Ritual Body Postures, Channeling, and the Ecstatic Body Trance

Goodman, Felicitas D.

doi:10.1525/ac.1999.10.1.54

Cited by 8 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…Earlier EEG studies [9] , [10] were criticized because of the uncontrolled movements of the participants [16] , [17] . However, Guttmann et al [18] observed specific brain wave patterns, characterized by low frequency theta waves, in experienced participants using body postures described by Goodman [4] , [19] and being exposed to rhythmic rattle sequences. More importantly, shamanistic practices have been reported to induce beneficial therapeutic effects.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring Shamanic Journeying: Repetitive Drumming with Shamanic Instructions Induces Specific Subjective Experiences but No Larger Cortisol Decrease than Instrumental Meditation Music

2014

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Exposure to repetitive drumming combined with instructions for shamanic journeying has been associated with physiological and therapeutic effects, such as an increase in salivary immunoglobulin A. In order to assess whether the combination of repetitive drumming and shamanic instructions is specifically associated with these effects, we compared the effect of listening to either repetitive drumming or instrumental meditation music for 15 minutes on salivary cortisol concentration and on self-reported physiological and psychological states. For each musical style, two groups of participants were exposed to two conditions: instructions for shamanic journeying or relaxation instructions. A total of 39 participants (24 females) inexperienced in shamanic journeying completed the experiment. Salivary cortisol concentrations were measured before and after exposure to music. In addition, participants filled out a mood questionnaire before and after the experiment and completed a post experiment questionnaire on their experiences. A significant decrease in the concentration in salivary cortisol was observed across all musical styles and instructions, indicating that exposure to 15 minutes of either repetitive drumming or instrumental meditation music, while lying down, was sufficient to induce a decrease in cortisol levels. However, no differences were observed across conditions. Significant differences in reported emotional states and subjective experiences were observed between the groups. Notably, participants exposed to repetitive drumming combined with shamanic instructions reported experiencing heaviness, decreased heart rate, and dreamlike experiences significantly more often than participants exposed to repetitive drumming combined with relaxation instructions. Our findings suggest that the subjective effects specifically attributed to repetitive drumming and shamanic journeying may not be reflected in differential endocrine responses.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring Shamanic Journeying: Repetitive Drumming with Shamanic Instructions Induces Specific Subjective Experiences but No Larger Cortisol Decrease than Instrumental Meditation Music

2014

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“…The following RBPs were practiced: (a) Bear Posture, (b) Olmecic Prince, (c) Saami Shaman, and (d) South Moravian Woman (Figure 2). The healing RBPs include the Bear Posture and the South Moravian Woman (Goodman & Nauwald, 2003). They are related to personal aims, aims including others, the environment (e.g., animals), or archetypes (e.g., mother Earth) (Gore, 1995).…”

Section: Design Materials and Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…They are related to personal aims, aims including others, the environment (e.g., animals), or archetypes (e.g., mother Earth) (Gore, 1995). The overall goal is the restoration of the body-psycho-social-spiritual balance (Goodman & Nauwald, 2003; Gore, 1995). The Bear Posture has its origin in a wooden carving made by Native Americans on the northwest coast of present-day Canada some 7,000 years ago (Goodman, 1999).…”

Section: Design Materials and Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Ritual body postures: Empirical study of a neurophysiological unique altered state of consciousness.

Hunger¹,

Rittner²

2015

The Humanistic Psychologist

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This study examines ritual body postures (RBPs), a technique for the induction of a unique altered state of consciousness (ASC) characterized by the paradoxical arousal of a combined trophotropic and ergotropic trance. The objectives were (a) to test the specificity of RBPs, (b) to describe effects on daily life, and (c) to analyze experts and novices regarding the aforementioned objectives. The study was conducted over a ten-month period with 19 participants. Participant observation and open-ended interviews were conducted, and previous experiences with RBPs and ASCs were assessed. Experience-focused interviews were conducted with four novices and four experts. (a) No specificity of the RBPs was noted; (b) effects on daily life included higher awareness of the body, mind, and social interactions, above all a better understanding of the participant's biography, increased self-care and self-assertion, and higher levels of tolerance and acceptance; (c) novices described more tactile and nociceptive experiences, experts more visionary experiences. Considering effects on daily life, no differences were detected between novices and experts. ASC experiences while in RBPs serve the satisfaction of basic needs that are central to counseling and psychotherapy. Due to their unique paradoxical arousal, RBPs open up an independent research field for future studies on ASCs.

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“…The Kalahari !Kung dance for hours while frequently assuming ritualized postures (Goodman, 2003). The Sami people of Lapland use monotonous chanting (joiking), aborigines of Australia play the didgeridoo, and the Bön Po shamans of Central Asia ring bells, all with the same non-ordinary sensory condition in mind (Ingerman and Wesselman, 2010).…”

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confidence: 99%

Nonlocality and the Shamanic State of Consciousness

2016

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Healing methods based on the altered states of consciousness common to spiritual or shamanic traditions escape neuroscientific explanations based on classical physics and classical cognition-denoted here as 'perceptualcognitive' (characteristic of the ordinary state of consciousness) information processing. A second foundation of knowledge-named as 'nonlocal-intuitive' approach-with another way for making representation of the environment is recommended to be introduced for better understanding of the shaman's reintegrative role in their community and for an improved interpretation of the shamanic state of consciousness with the 'soul flight' in its center. This essay offers terminology for translating some common elements of indigenous world views into a frame closer to the contemporary Western mindset. The proposed model suggests that when the coping capacity of the 'perceptual-cognitive' mode of processing is exhausted in a stressful or unmanageable situation, or its dominance is eliminated by the use of hallucinogens or contemplation, a frame shift occurs, and an alternate source of environmental information is opened through a 'nonlocal-intuitive' channel. Consequently, the core activity of shamanic practice, the shamanic journey, occurs in a field of quantum connections and is not restricted by space-time constrains, but limited by the uncertainty principle.

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Ritual Body Postures, Channeling, and the Ecstatic Body Trance

Cited by 8 publications

References 2 publications

Exploring Shamanic Journeying: Repetitive Drumming with Shamanic Instructions Induces Specific Subjective Experiences but No Larger Cortisol Decrease than Instrumental Meditation Music

Exploring Shamanic Journeying: Repetitive Drumming with Shamanic Instructions Induces Specific Subjective Experiences but No Larger Cortisol Decrease than Instrumental Meditation Music

Ritual body postures: Empirical study of a neurophysiological unique altered state of consciousness.

Nonlocality and the Shamanic State of Consciousness

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